Memory of nature
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"There should also be the values and ethics of life that support the harmony and respect for nature and the environment. Without a metaphysical science and the wisdom of life, the natural will simply be stationed as an object that maybe exploited as people please". Arahmaiani
A year or more has passed and we meet Arahmaiani again under a Javan sky to create the installation and performance once more, this time in a field on the banks of the Elo-Progo River in Central Java. Borobudur is close by this location.
The first time we watched Arahmaiani’s performance, Memory of Nature, was in Singapore at Art Stage 2013.
“It appears that mankind has the capacity to forget that life is a beautiful garden, heaven on earth. Mankind forgets to care for it and to nurse it”. Dalai Lama
A year or more has passed and we meet again under a Javan sky to create the installation and performance once more, this time in a field on the banks of the flowing Elo-Progo River in Central Java. Borobudur is close by this location.
In October 2013 (Yogyakarta) Arahmaiani said this about Memory of Nature:
"My work refers to the basic form of the Borobudur Mandala and uses natural materials such as wood, soil and vegetation.
I want to convey the nature and environmental issue. But Ido not want this issue raised as a limited matter: such as forest conservation, water, land and healthy organic foods.
These matters just focus on the material aspect of mortal life on this planet and dwell on the side of materialistic science. There should also be the values and ethics of life that support the harmony and respect for nature and the environment. Without a metaphysical science and the wisdom of life, the natural will simply be stationed as an object that maybe exploited as people please".
What seems like a very long way from its urban setting in Singapore, we bring the performance back to nature as we film the sequence for the documentary Arahmaiani: Between the mountain and the sea.
The Mandala, central to the performance, has been constructed in a process that takes several days, plants are grown, tended and watered. Soon the soil that forms the mandala is covered by the green shoots of young plants.
Here Arahmaiani describes the concept and philosophy that is the Memory of Nature installation and performance.
"The basic point that is important on my Mandala work Memory of Nature which is based on the Borobudur Vajradatu Mandala (as a cosmic formation that portrays the universe with all it’s inhabitants), is the basic form of the integrated system of quadrants, the levels (that suggest ascent and descent), the principle of horizontal & vertical, and interior & exterior.
These principles are being implemented in this installation work though I use different natural materials of wood, soil and vegetation. The idea of ascending and descending is suggested by the plants as is the idea of levels, since there is a process of how the seeds grow into plants and then bear fruits, then ripen and fall down to the earth and then the cycle starts again.
So this natural process principle is very important (and I haven’t found any Mandala in it’s tradition using vegetation so far). A young Tibetan (our Tibetan interpreter in Singapore) commented that it is a new kind or modern kind of Mandala".
Eager in its anticipation, the day arrives for the performance. The performance begins, Arahmaiani performs with a flag. Arahmaiani circles round and round the Mandala.
As he did in Singapore, experimental musician, Wukir Suryadi, accompanies Arahmaiani on one of his self made instruments, this time constructed from a plough.
As the performance draws to a close, the Mandala is destroyed.
This represents the needless destruction of a place of Nirvana and peace, the Mandala no longer protected from a dangerous world.
The spiritual and the physical in combination in this work.
The origins of this work are in Tibet, and Arahmaiani’s role in working with the Buddhist monks in highlighting the environmental issues of the Tibetan Plateau (see the Singapore issue (4) of creative-i in in the Story book section on this website for the full story).
What adds yet another dimension to bringing this work back to Java is the connection it makes to Indonesia’s ancient links to Buddhism.
This is a spine tingling work of great power and substance.
Our warm thanks to the team that made this event possible, to Deddy Irianto, gallery owner and philanthropist, whose field we performed in; Ruli Hendratmoko, Tri Maryani and Hendro for preparing and managing the site; Joseph Lamont, Tokyo based performer and musician, and of course Arahmaiani and Wukir for their performance. We acknowledge Wukir's enormous effort and strength in returning to the film shoot after the sad death of his sister.
Java, March 2014
The first time we watched Arahmaiani’s performance, Memory of Nature, was in Singapore at Art Stage 2013.
“It appears that mankind has the capacity to forget that life is a beautiful garden, heaven on earth. Mankind forgets to care for it and to nurse it”. Dalai Lama
A year or more has passed and we meet again under a Javan sky to create the installation and performance once more, this time in a field on the banks of the flowing Elo-Progo River in Central Java. Borobudur is close by this location.
In October 2013 (Yogyakarta) Arahmaiani said this about Memory of Nature:
"My work refers to the basic form of the Borobudur Mandala and uses natural materials such as wood, soil and vegetation.
I want to convey the nature and environmental issue. But Ido not want this issue raised as a limited matter: such as forest conservation, water, land and healthy organic foods.
These matters just focus on the material aspect of mortal life on this planet and dwell on the side of materialistic science. There should also be the values and ethics of life that support the harmony and respect for nature and the environment. Without a metaphysical science and the wisdom of life, the natural will simply be stationed as an object that maybe exploited as people please".
What seems like a very long way from its urban setting in Singapore, we bring the performance back to nature as we film the sequence for the documentary Arahmaiani: Between the mountain and the sea.
The Mandala, central to the performance, has been constructed in a process that takes several days, plants are grown, tended and watered. Soon the soil that forms the mandala is covered by the green shoots of young plants.
Here Arahmaiani describes the concept and philosophy that is the Memory of Nature installation and performance.
"The basic point that is important on my Mandala work Memory of Nature which is based on the Borobudur Vajradatu Mandala (as a cosmic formation that portrays the universe with all it’s inhabitants), is the basic form of the integrated system of quadrants, the levels (that suggest ascent and descent), the principle of horizontal & vertical, and interior & exterior.
These principles are being implemented in this installation work though I use different natural materials of wood, soil and vegetation. The idea of ascending and descending is suggested by the plants as is the idea of levels, since there is a process of how the seeds grow into plants and then bear fruits, then ripen and fall down to the earth and then the cycle starts again.
So this natural process principle is very important (and I haven’t found any Mandala in it’s tradition using vegetation so far). A young Tibetan (our Tibetan interpreter in Singapore) commented that it is a new kind or modern kind of Mandala".
Eager in its anticipation, the day arrives for the performance. The performance begins, Arahmaiani performs with a flag. Arahmaiani circles round and round the Mandala.
As he did in Singapore, experimental musician, Wukir Suryadi, accompanies Arahmaiani on one of his self made instruments, this time constructed from a plough.
As the performance draws to a close, the Mandala is destroyed.
This represents the needless destruction of a place of Nirvana and peace, the Mandala no longer protected from a dangerous world.
The spiritual and the physical in combination in this work.
The origins of this work are in Tibet, and Arahmaiani’s role in working with the Buddhist monks in highlighting the environmental issues of the Tibetan Plateau (see the Singapore issue (4) of creative-i in in the Story book section on this website for the full story).
What adds yet another dimension to bringing this work back to Java is the connection it makes to Indonesia’s ancient links to Buddhism.
This is a spine tingling work of great power and substance.
Our warm thanks to the team that made this event possible, to Deddy Irianto, gallery owner and philanthropist, whose field we performed in; Ruli Hendratmoko, Tri Maryani and Hendro for preparing and managing the site; Joseph Lamont, Tokyo based performer and musician, and of course Arahmaiani and Wukir for their performance. We acknowledge Wukir's enormous effort and strength in returning to the film shoot after the sad death of his sister.
Java, March 2014
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